Eunice : hi Doris. don't think i will be able to help out as i believe that is something that Dave will have to enable, the ability to adjust font size for printing purposes. Dave has been rather MIA, lately, so hope there aren't any problems. hope you and yours are well.

8 years ago

Doris Clark: Thanks Eunice, I tinkered with it, and found changing my printer scale worked for me,and by using the page preview I could see if it would cause printing 2 or 3 pages (that's an unpleasant surprise)

Eunice : wasn't that fun! i feel so dorky for playing with it like it was a video game. my ankle is unfortunately a chronic problem for me. coupled with not having insurance, gotta' live with it until i can get someone to look at it with more know-how than the crappy County General here in Chicago. nice to hear from you Doris!

Eunice : cool tool: Create Your Own Recipe. you select the ingredients and it will figure out the portions and give you directions. has its limits but it's fun and it's a great way to encourage new cooks to experiment with ingredients. it won't tell you what the good combos are but perhaps that will be the next incarnation for this fun cooking tool. making crustless kale quiche. did you know that freezing kale is a good way to breakdown that fibrous toughness and also allows you to just wash, trim and toss into freezer, ensuring that you will always have nutritious kale onhand.

Matriarchy: I am going to try that! I struggle to like kale. But I have seen what freezing does to spinach, and we still like it in quiche, so I will give the kale a try.

8 years ago

Eunice : i think there must be a special technique to making kale. i made some couscous with kale, one time, and was very impressed with how the kale came out, so i made more kale. the second batch was inferior in taste and color, tasting blahh and was not the vibrant green of the first batch. the only difference that i can recall was that i added vinegar earlier to the second batch. i've heard of people adding baking soda to their water when cooking greens to retain the green color but apparently having an acidic environment also makes for a blah taste as well as a blah color. i have not retested the recipe to test out my theory but will get back to you if i find out anything else.

8 years ago

Margaret : I <3 kale! Works wonderfully with lentils in soup. Returns color and tastes yummy! Never tried freezing it. Thanks for the tip!

Margaret : Awesome Eunice - I couldn't figure out how to do that from just writing a comment! :) Did you try my carrot soup? What did you think?

8 years ago

Eunice : Margaret, i have been unfortunately laid up and haven't really been out much to do grocery shopping and my man has only been getting the minimum as he's used to me doing the shopping. i will try your soup and kale recipes as soon as my ankle is stronger and i can bike to the groceries to get food as they look delish!

Doris Clark: Hi Eunice, I had fun reading the links you posted. I'm not doing much cooking these days, just reading about it instead. Hope you are enjoying your summer days.

8 years ago

Eunice : thanks, Doris! glad you enjoyed reading them, i certainly did and thought it would be good to share with others. i love reading about food, too. when i discovered Ruth Reichl's books went through them in quick succession. now want to start MFK Fisher's, the mother of food writing. summer is coming to an end as the weather is cooling off. so much that i wish i had done but didn't this summer (cicadas were particularly loud this year in Chicago, btw.) oh well...

Eunice : trust your instincts. when they tell you that something is off, listen to them. made some organic whole wheat sandwich bread, a recipe that a friend had given me, and noticed that the liquid to dry content seemed a bit off. sure enough, the dough was really stiff even after adding twice the amount of water called for and that's no fun when you're trying to do this all by hand with no machine. it's not a doorstop but definitely more dense than i would have liked. made some adjustments and will test this out next time.

Janice Cook: thanks for the message about this recipe. i appreciate it.

9 years ago

Eunice : you're welcome, Janice. didn't want anybody else to be chewing through dense, dry bread. as soon as the appropriate adjustments are made, i can contact you on the safe time to test it out, yourself. or you can try the 100% whole wheat sandwich bread while waiting. it utilizes orange juice to soften the wheaty flavor and it works!

Eunice : made some eggplant pasta a few days ago when in a fog of distraction, allowed the eggplant to salt sweat for too long. of course, the dish came out too salty. i am very loathe to throw any food away so i stuck it in the fridge until i could think of something to do with it. today, i grabbed a 6 oz pack of baby bella mushrooms, sliced and pan-fried 'til aromatic and golden, heated up the eggplant pasta and tossed with some couscous and chopped parsley and hafta' say it was quite good. flavors all worked well together and the parsley was key, i think. anybody else saved a recipe from the oblivion of the circular file?

Eunice : Crystal, flavored oils are wonderful. great thing to have on hand for those rushed weekday meals when just a drizzle on simple chopped up vegetables, a drizzle of oil and a whiz in the oven or your frying pan can create some exquisite fare for your mouth to savor. and if you bake bread, a tablespoon or two on pizza dough or focaccia or just to dip freshly baked bread in is divine. noticed you like fast meals as your Ciabatta with Artichoke Hearts, Green Olives and White Beans looks mighty taste and quick! will have to try that soon.

Eunice : made pa jeon, a Korean pancake that's not only economical but fairly versatile. you could probably add any vegetable (green onions and sweet potatoes were an excellent combo). just took Mark Bittman's recipe and changed it around a bit...because i can't leave recipes alone. his weren't crispy enough. my man was very happy with it. for those looking for recipes that are easily adaptable for a gluten-free or vegan diet, check this one out. you could probably use rice flour to remove the gluten (make sure your soy sauce is wheat-free) and leave out the egg if you want something completely vegan. enjoy!

Eunice : yes, recipes are just a repository of smells, sensations and memories. it does help to relive those moments with loved ones. i'll always remember my grandma when i make choux pastry as she was the one who taught me how to make them. she was also the person who said that i should never make it while on my period as my menstrual taint will sink any batter. still makes me giggle to think of our little battles over that. but she taught me well and my profiteroles and nun's farts always come out quite well.

Eunice : tested out Lo Chan's Crunch-top Focaccia. my man gives it double thumbs up! we were dipping it in some herb oil (Herbes de Provence steeped in olive oil for at least 1 month) and added some sun-dried pesto. also used the herb oil as topping i/o the one on his recipe as i had a full jar of this stuff and it smelled good baking. he was very pleased. possibly think about letting it rise for another hour or so after stretching out on pan as the crumb was a bit more dense than i'd like it to be. there were plenty of plenty of "air pockets" but just to test out my theory and to see if it makes a difference. thanks Lo Chan!

Eunice : just the Herbes de Provence oil...it smelled so good with the lavender smell wafting through our apartment. think next time i'll add the herb oil into recipe itself i/o using the plain olive oil. i noticed in your recipe (which i love as it's full of personality from someone who actually made it as opposed to copying it from somewhere else) that you didn't add the oil into the recipe; i think you could probably cut the oil by half and it would have tasted just fine. thanks again for the recipe...my man thanks you, too! i'll have to test out your Cliff House Clam Chowder spice mix, next.

Eunice : tip for the day: leave out acidic ingredients until the very end if you want your vegetables to soften. i knew that adding acid too early when cooking beans makes them hard, but it never occurred to me that it also applies to vegetables or possibly even pasta, until i saw this tip on Apartment Therapy: Why vegetables sometimes won't soften. inversely, if you don't want your food to be mush, add that lemon a little earlier.

Traci Downing: Funny that you mentioned this, I just saw a show last night about this except for wanting to crisp up wimpy lettuce. You use lemon (acidic) juice and ice water to crisp it up again. Makes sense it would work on the flip-side like you are referring to.

9 years ago

Eunice : lemon is great! i squeezed it onto a stir fry rice dish that was rather blah and it just perked up that flavor. and yeah, that's a great way to perk up lettuce because it also adds a nice tang to it, too...never thought of that great idea, either.

Traci Downing: Eunice, you know me...I love to make cheesecake and when I saw an artichoke CC, I got very excited to see what it was all about! What an interesting title for this dish but it kind of rings true! I love artichokes! Thanks for the tips!

Lorrae : hi Eunice! I used your tip about "blooming" my spices on my new recipe (http://wegottaeat.com/Lorrae/recipes/country-captain-chicken) It worked wonderfully! I didn't know a dish could be so flavorful. Thanks so much (again) for the tip! :D

Eunice : woohoo! did you add the spices into step #3, then, i/o #4? that recipe does look good, though, so perhaps it wasn't just the spice trick that did it. you even deglaze with wine...sweet!!! you're fast becoming an excellent cook.

Eunice : what to do with all these tortilla chips? they've got tips on being creative with leftovers for family meals. how about leftovers after events that you've just organized and you're really sick and tired of the food...and there's so much left?

Traci Downing: Just a thought, Eunice. You could use the tortilla chips with a taco soup, nachos, or a mexi casserole. For the other leftovers, you could have your child's friends over and let them eat them...or if your kids are "older", invite them over to eat them, ha.

9 years ago

Eunice : no kids here, Traci...unless you're counting the overgrown ones. will have to find a taco soup recipe. soup is excellent for these winter days. hey, you changed your avatar!

Dawn Knowlton: Hi Eunice! Just wanted to pop in and say howdy. I am home and recovering from my surgery. Doing well and all that jazz. I want to thank you for your kind comments and checking in on me every now and then. It is very kind of you. Best wishes, happy cooking, and see you soon! -- Dawn

Doris Clark: Hi Eunice. Thanks for the hello.
About 10 days ago I thought I was back in Chicago. We had 12 inches of snow. It was unreal. The current weather forecast here is for snow again.
Things have been distressful here since first week of January. My best friend/sister in law has been in hospital with pancreatic cancer. So most days life has been revolving around those needs.
On a lighter note, today is National Margarita Day. My favorite.

Eunice : just listened to my favorite food radio show Good Food and they featured hot pot topic which made me hungry for braised dishes and congee. so made some congee and my eggplant spread. packed them both in jars and will be bringing them with me to work tomorrow. mmm...comfort food at work.

Eunice : woohoo! Dave has added new gadgets! testing out the instant recipe share link. anybody made cheese stock before? http://wegottaeat.com/blackbirdpies/recipes/cheese-stock so how many recipes can i link here? this recipe is for whenever i feel like exercising my upper body with the French Fold method.http://wegottaeat.com/blackbirdpies/recipes/savory-pastry-with-sweet-dough-base

Eunice : it was very yummy!!!! mmmmm...thanks so much Margot for the recipe! it was so easy and all ooozy with flavor! did switch out some ingredients depending on what i had on hand but it was essentially the same. you can "befriend" people by clicking on the star that's next to people's name. it's visible when you click on their Profile. here's mine: http://wegottaeat.com/blackbirdpies and here's Carolyn's http://wegottaeat.com/carolyn.beck.

9 years ago

Margot Moore: MMMM!!! I'm glad you liked it, Eunice! It's so foolproof and you can use different kinds of cheeses. Thanks for the info on how to befriend people! I've perused your recipes too and you have some very interesting ones I'll have to try!

Eunice : ...mmmmmmmm...it was very good. creamy smooth and very flavorful. the buttery, toasted bread crumbs added a nice crunch contrast to the rich cheesiness. very yummmmmm! and not at all difficult to put together.

TAMI ETCHEVERRY: ok so i might sound totally dumb but I'm new here, how do i post the recipe besides just inputting it in my profile? do i paste and copy into the post section on my page? if you would help me out i'd appreciate it, I want to put up the chile relleno recipe like i told you i would, HAHA!

TAMI ETCHEVERRY: ok i feel like an idiot i think i answered my question it seems when i posted the recipe to my profile you can go in and view it, if i need to do it another way so you can see the post, let me know.

Doris Clark: Hi Eunice, I'm in Sonora,Ca. Lunch was Mushroom-barley burger, green beans and spaghetti squash. Dinner will be Thai curry and brown basmati rice. Living the life, he, he. Doing all of the eating, and none of the cooking.

Doris Clark: Hi Eunice, what's cooking in your kitchen?
I was watching Gourmet's food program on pbs last Sat and it was a bit sad (& weird) knowing some of the editors doing segments were probably already out of a job, or soon to be.

Eunice : hi Doris! made some scalloped potatoes, which was mehhhh... should have trusted my instincts more and cooked it longer instead of following the directions on the recipe. recipe also recommended adding broth which i feel didn't add anything to it. however, when i did second-guess the recipe for apple-cheddar pie and prebaked a cheddar cheese pie shell, and then baked again with the apple filling, the shell came out very hard...oh well. still ate it and it was still good. yes, it was very sad listening to Ruth Reichl, as she was going around promoting their book, Gourmet Today, now realizing that it will be no more. seemed like everyone in Gourmet was under the impression that they would be around for another year before the publisher pulled the rug out from under their feet. and right before the holidays, too! it's sad because their subscription was pretty high so were not lacking for paying readers but because they weren't bringing in enough expensive advertising dollars, they were closed down. something so wrong when the voice of the people means nothing but the lack of corporate backing does. i'm gonna' drown my sorrow in another piece of crunchy pie...or maybe not...or maybe i will.

Eunice : lunch today was polenta and pan-fried zucchini with freshly chopped tomatoes and a sprinkle of some hard rind cheese that i got from the farmer's market that i can't remember the name of. nice and pungent cheese! lunch tomorrow will be polenta and pan-fried orange and red bell pepper with onions and garlic, roasted pine nuts, pepper flakes and a few dashes of paprika.

Eunice : yours was perfectly fine. funny how we second-guess ourselves. the moment that i posted the comment, i immediately thought, but wait...what if Doris wanted to respond and then became worried that i might have stepped on your toes. but i guess you're perfectly fine with it. yes, very glad to hear from Matriarchy. sounds like she's more settled in. not sure what's happened to Tyler. perhaps tired of people not responding to his posts? Traci Downing is no longer present here, either. hehe...do ya' suppose i'm driving people away with my incessant commenting?

Eunice : just back from Starved Rock Park here in Illinois. had a nice picknicker underneath what would have been a roaring waterfall; the drier season i guess. we prepared a lot of nori rolls and were happily noshing on them, sucking on our fingertips and enjoying the soft sprays of water trickling from the rocks above. didn't carve our names in the sandstone, though. only left our footprints.

Eunice : i have vacated my kitchen for my mom's in California so developing heartburn and bloated belly syndrome from eating tơo much. also been kinda' busy taking care of mind-numbing business like applying for various jobs. ick! at the moment trying to craft the perfect cover letter...it's helped along by foraging in my mom's fridge...or maybe it's just more distracting. hope all is well with you and yours.

9 years ago

Doris Clark: Oh dear! Sounds like serious events are involved. One thing, Moms are always glad to have a fridge raider around. Do hope all goes well. Also know you are missed, WEG is not as lively when you are away.

9 years ago

Eunice : thanks for your kind words, Doris! my brother is back from his Peace Corps stint staying at my mom's for 2 weeks before returning to his assignment. he dearly misses the variety of food he is used to so will be gorging for awhile as will i. if my mom had her druthers, she would prefer to have all her kids living with her under one roof. we, however, can only take so much of each other before wanting to kill each other. perhaps, that's why i moved all the way to Chicago. though i love my family, it's nice to have some space of my own so will be happy to return to my own kitchen space and to be done with the whole job hunting process. not looking forward to the interviews...but then again, it would be nice if they thought i was good enough to even get an interview, so scratch that thought. happy eating!

Eunice : rice vermicelli noodles, simple sweet/sour slaw (no mayo) that i made this weekend, pad thai sauce sitting in the fridge, strips of fried tofu and a handful of soy bean sprouts tossed together makes for a quick and fulfilling meal.

Eunice : summertime makes me think of a nice cool drink out in the sun...a nice alcoholic drink like a cocktail. i've been collecting all these drinks and looking at others to see what looks good. it's sorta' like cooking when you toss all these ingredients together to make something that just slides down so nicely.

Eunice : well if you add a lot of Sriracha or fresh peppers, like my mom would, it could be hot. it's a very simple and light dish with a lot of assorted herbs (especially Vietnamese coriander and perilla) and veggies (bean sprouts, julienned carrots and cucumber, shredded greens); it's practically a salad with noodles. recipe varies a lot depending on what veggies (i would even toss in julienned zucchini or jicama) are on hand. the main ingredient is the sauce which consists of soy sauce, lime juice, fresh garlic smashed with a little bit of sugar and dashes of water. the fried tofu slices adds a depth to it. it's very nice on hot summer days as you don't really have to cook anything, except for frying up the tofu...if you want to and i do. the original non-vegetarian recipe is bún thịt nướng and has grilled pork seasoned with lemongrass. check it out and just salivate over that tasty dish:
http://ravenouscouple.blogspot.com/2009/05/bun-thit-nuong-vermicelli-with-grilled.html

10 years ago

Marlee : Oh wow that is yummy looking. Love the site as well, gives printable versions.

Eunice : that's so cool! your son did an excellent job and it was most certainly an excellent way to keep her new kitchen from getting cluttered with scraps of recipes floating about. if WGE really takes off, maybe Dave could create a data entry position for Ryan!

Eunice : made a batch of panini out of the flat bread (pizza) dough. just cut them in half and they're perfect for making sandwiches. partially made of whole wheat so it's good for you and tastes good.

Eunice : corn husk broth...anyone ever made this before? i'm intrigued as it consists of just corn husk, onion, water and salt and yet produces a most "corny" flavor...or so says the chef who professes that it's his secret ingredient.

Doris Clark: um...I have a vague memory of running across it somewhere. What's it used with or in?

10 years ago

Eunice : it was vaguely mentioned in a book that i checked out from the library so unfortunately don't have it with me to reference to. can't even recall the dishes as i was just intrigued by the idea itself. the chef stated that he really liked the broth because it had a strong corn flavor but didn't give the specific portion of ingredients or directions so i think i'm just gonna' wing making it and see what happens. any suggestions, Doris?

Doris Clark: Hi Eunice, are you on holiday? I'm finished with the friendship bread experience. I did an edit on my recipe notes and listed you as source material. I got rid of the pudding mix by adding cornstarch and more vanilla. It all turned out good, but summertime has turned my attention to cool drinks and frozen desserts or maybe mmmm... ice cream.

Eunice : oh very cool! never would have thought of adding cornstarch. will have to check out your version. thanks for the heads up on this...though i don't think i'll be going back to making a starter or Amish Friendship Bread for awhile.

Tam : after perusing only a few of your recipes I had the sense that I will be doing it quite often...your recipes and my families tastes are getting along swell!!!
thank you for all the instructional info too...terrific helps/tools. you are awesome!

Eunice : thanks!! i tend to get quite geeked out when it comes to food and try to tone down the info as it really does become too much. so i'm glad that somebody out there appreciates it and could possibly use it.

Tam : do you just place the strawberries onto the ricotta or did you mix the cream and ricotta first?

10 years ago

Eunice : i mix a little bit of the whipped cream into the ricotta first, otherwise there will be chunks of ricotta floating around in the cream, and then fold the ricotta/cream into the rest of the whipped cream. fooling around with proportions as too little ricotta, you can barely taste it and too much it's too grainy, but just enough and there's this added layer of richness that i rather like. if you've discovered anything, please do tell.

Eunice : giardiniera was good! a little bit of patience helped to soak in the flavor (Phil became impatient and popped it open after only one day and declared it wasn't flavorful enough) and the process itself wasn't too painful. think it needs banana peppers on top of the jalapeños.

Eunice : attempting to make giardiniera for the first time. a Chicago staple that my dude can't seem to do without when he makes sandwiches. for some reason, the local market we used to find it at no longer stocks it. so now, i'm attempting to make it at home and make my dude very happy and content. updates further on how it goes...

Doris Clark: Revisited your deconstructed friendship bread recipe today. I was gifted with some starter and the time frame was calling (yelling at) me. I really didn't want to use the pudding mix and remembered you had taken it out.

Eunice : late night pizza as the dough is ready and sitting in the fridge and we only needed to crank up the oven and stone, stretch out the dough a bit, toss on toppings, bake and enjoy...and then go to sleep.

Eunice : mine was eh as my toppings were too mushy and i was too lazy/tired to pre-bake the pizza for a bit, so the dough came out a bit moosh in the middle. my man's pizza was just right as he just drizzled some olive oil, some fresh garlic smeared in with the oil, tomato slices and cheese...but then again he loves pizza. i think the topping that i used would have worked out better with the half WW/half AP. that said, more pizza tonight as that's the recipe at hand and that's all the energy i have...think i'll try my dude's version.

Eunice : but they've got so many other goodies! craving a big bowl of ramen right now as they don't have the good stuff in Chicago! perhaps i can send you some pizza, Chicago-style, if you'll send me some wet, slurpy ramen...or not...

Eunice : we sorta' did it Chicago-style. liberally poured olive oil onto the bottom of a cast-iron pan and heated the oil up a bit first so that when the dough is added, it created a buttery crunchy crust. cornmeal woulda' put it over the top.

Eunice : made some fish meunière, or as my dude refers to it, "fish swimming in butter." been making puppy eyes at me for awhile demanding it, and since he's been particularly adorable today that's what we had for a very late dinner with rice and a side salad that he prepared.

Eunice : yeah, it's the no-knead flatbread recipe. have you ever used whole wheat with your pizza doughs? i've made half AP & half WW and it adds a nutty sweetness that i ruther like. and the gingerbread muffins were/are good. munching on them at work as i type this out...mmmm...

10 years ago

DELETED DELETED: you spend way too much time on this site. I think you've commented on everyone's status. That is impressive! My goal is to be like you one day :P

10 years ago

Eunice : guilty as charged! i like food. i like preparing and testing out new and interesting recipes, fussing over old ones and, especially, savoring the results. sometimes they're not all that great but there's always the next recipe so i wanna' just share the love. speaking of sharing: Traci, Tyler has a whole wheat pizza dough recipe on his recipe list that looks pretty good and that you might want to check out: http://wegottaeat.com/youngt2/recipes/whole-wheat-pizza-dough

10 years ago

Traci Downing: I haven't used ww with my pizza dough...but it sounds good. I will have to try it. When I do, I'll let you know how it turns out!

10 years ago

DELETED DELETED: Yes its delicious. I think it makes pizza good for you too :P

Eunice : back from the dentist and thinking the proper thing to do is make soft polenta or congee...but my bad sweet tooth just wants vanilla ice cream with raspberry jam, chocolate syrup, whip cream and a maraschino cherry on top.

Eunice : but then it oozes all this oil like a teenager's forehead (and i should know because it happened to me)...suppose i could just drain that.

10 years ago

Eunice : sorry, meant to say thanks for the tip and that i'll try it and then report back on results.

10 years ago

Eunice : heh...so i guess i don't mind it swimming in butter so much. stuck it underneath the broiler and the crispy bits are nice. thanks Joel.

10 years ago

DELETED DELETED: Drain that oil and pop it back in the oven! Dairy can be gross if over cooked, but, I know you can handle it. And apparently it worked out! haha. I love scalloped potatoes. But I just love potatoes all together.

Eunice : making blueberry muffins (ahem...with frozen blueberries), more 5-minute bread, and ghee (clarified butter with a nuttier flavor). there's nothing like frying up eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches or anything made better by a pan fry when you use ghee instead of just oil.

Eunice : the great thing about making big batches of food at the beginning of the week: on the days when the weather is a might too warm for cooking in the kitchen, the ease of pulling out items from the fridge and quickly heating them up is absolutely heavenly. the garlicky potatoes and my apple/red onion/cheddar concoction goes quite well together. with a salad to boot, that'll be dinner.

Eunice : yep...it's actually a pretty easy way to learn how to bake bread. after you've made the batter enough times, you get a feel for whether it's too wet or dry or if it risen enough or fallen. and after awhile you play with proportions of the ingredients and switching in different flours...but that could just be me.